World No. 1 Novak Djokovic won Monday at Roland Garros, but No. 3 seed Roger Federer stole the show with his 233rd Grand Slam match win, tying the record of Jimmy Connors. Federer defeated German Tobias Kamke 6-2, 7-5, 6-3.

“I’m very happy, because Jimmy Connors was a huge champion and still is, so it’s a great pleasure,” Federer said. “Jimmy is obviously one of the greats of all time, and was around for 20 years. This is my 13th or 14th French Open as well. It all started back in 1999 against [Pat] Rafter and I have hardly missed any Grand Slams.”

Meanwhile Djokovic opened his campaign for a piece of his own history, a potential fourth consecutive Grand Slam win, with a straight-set win over Italian Potito Starace.

“Pressure is always present, and the way I look at it, it’s a privilege and it’s a challenge,” Djokovic said. “So you need to try to understand and learn how to deal with it, and if you feel pressure, that means that you’re doing something that is right.”

Other Top 10 winners on the day were No. 7 Tomas Berdych and No. 10 John Isner.

On the upset tip were Frenchman Florent Serra topping No. 15 Feliciano Lopez when F-Lo retired in the first set with a left oblique muscle injury, and Belgian riser David Goffin burying No. 23 Radek “The Worm” Stepanek in five sets.

“I could not move my legs. You don’t get a medical timeout for cramps,” Bogomolov said. “My whole leg was straight. I couldn’t bend it. I couldn’t walk. I didn’t want to risk a potential ligament damage or something. And you can’t get a trainer for that.”

On the women’s side Tuesday there was excitement in the American media that U.S. women completed a 10-0 win-loss record. Call us when someone besides a Williams sister reaches the quarterfinals.

World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka received a scare during a sloppy performance against Italian Alberta Brianti, eventually triumphing 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-2.

“Bad days happen,” said Azarenka, who committed 60 unforced errors during the match. “Unfortunately today I had way more mistakes than I usually do, but it happens sometimes. The first match, they’re not easy. But in the end of the day I still won the match, I manage to go through those 60 mistakes and still win the match. I think that’s pretty good statistics.”

American Bethanie Mattek-Sands turned in the largest upset of the day, topping No. 12 Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 6-3. Mattek-Sands was her illustrious self in her 2012 Roland Garros debut, dressed in an ensemble including black knee-high socks, a navy spotted skirt, black shorts and a green vest.

“It really shows that some of the Americans are coming through, playing tough, grinding it out here on the clay,” Mattek-Sands said of the American women’s resurgence. “And it’s awesome.”

S.A. DAVIS CUP BROKE-ASS BROKE – How broke is Tennis South Africa (TSA), the country’s tennis federation? So broke that they are giving up on hosting home-field advantage for their September Davis Cup World Group Playoff tie with Canada. TSA is citing “current economic conditions” for its inability to organize the tie on home ground. Canada will now have the homecountry advantage for the tie, but at the same time now South Africa’s No. 1 player, Kevin Anderson, who is pretty much U.S. based, may play since the date is around the US Open.

TENNIS HALL OF CRIMINALS – The Tennis Hall of Fame is getting a lot of heat since failing to act on numerous accusations of South African inductee Bob Hewitt sexually abusing underage girls he was coaching and working with over an almost 20-year period. Roughly a dozen women on three continents came forward to say Hewitt abused them, and the Hall of Fame said they would investigate — before doing nothing. The Hall of Fame council/representatives have not answered any inquiries from the alleged victims, and according to the Boston Globe have now announced they are dropping their inquiry into Hewitt altogether, sweeping it tidily under the rug. “We’re going to be diligent about it and see what we can discover,” said Tony Trabert, the hall’s president at the time, nine months ago, but apparently the Hall of Fame has done nothing but wish it away. Hall of Fame Executive Director Mark Stenning told the Globe that the hall scrapped the investigation in favor of drafting a policy to address similar issues in the future. Hall of Fame President and former player Stan Smith would not comment to the Globe, but Smith’s former doubles partner Bob Lutz was not so quiet on the topic, stating, “The whole thing is sickening. Reggie Bush lost the Heisman Trophy for much less than Hewitt is accused of doing as a player. Hewitt should be kicked out of the hall.” The Boston Globe in an editorial summed it up: “The allegations of sexual misconduct against former tennis star Bob Hewitt have echoed across the sport since they were first reported by the Globe’s Bob Hohler last year — everywhere, that is, except at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I. Hewitt, the South African doubles legend, remains enshrined in the hall, whose leaders are seriously damaging their organization’s credibility by failing to take the accusations more seriously…If the organization had wanted to make a principled stand that off-court behavior doesn’t count, or start a philosophical colloquy on the issue, it could have done so when the news was reported. But promising an investigation and then not delivering one is inexcusable.”

MISCHave American women really gone 10-0 thus far at the French Open? Or is it a dream? In 2003 11 reached the 2nd RD. In 1991 13 made it out of the 1st RD… Roger Federer is now the only player with 50+ wins at all four Grand Slams. Federer has not lost first round at a Grand Slam since 2003 French Open to Luis Horna…Victoria Azarenka avoided becoming the first No. 1-seeded women to lose first round at a Slam since Martina Hingis lost to Virginia Ruano Pascual at 2001 Wimbledon. The Belarussian was down 7-6 4-0 and was twice two points from trailing 5-0…Novak Djokovic is six wins from a “Djoker Slam”…Serena Williams has won 17 straight matches, and 17 straight on clay…Roger Federer has tied Jimmy Connors with 233 career Grand Slam match wins…Serena Williams has never lost first round at a Slam (46-0)…Novak Djokovic is undefeated in his new UNIQLO gear…11 of the 40 (or 27%) men playing Tuesday have never won a match at the French Open…Rafael Nadal is bidding for his 150th career Slam match win…Roger Federer has won his last 48 matches against German foes…Rafael Nadal’s opponent, Simone Bolelli, is a putrid 1-27 career against Top 10 players…Maria Sharapova has reached the finals in 5 of 7 events this year…Petra Kvitova is the only Top 10 player yet to reach a final this season…After being the top seed at the Australian Open, Caroline Wozniacki is now ranked No. 9… 2011 finalist Francesa Schiavone will have to reach the fourth round to stay in the Top 20…Kimiko Date-Krumm is 41, Ash Barty is 16…Alex Bogomolov, who’s been a bust since switching his nationality to Russian from American, retired down match point in the fifth set because of cramps. Huh?…American ships passing in the night: American comeback story Brian Baker has won 26 of his last 29 matches while Andy Roddick has won just one of his last 10 sets….USA Today reports Mardy Fish missed the spring and the French Open dealing with a heart issue he feared would kill him…Both Frank Dancevic and Feliciano Lopez retired early in their matches today after not winning a game, but hey, then earned about $22K in first round prize money. Cool…American Brian Baker’s first-round win in Nice was his first tour-level win in nearly seven years, since beating Gaston Gaudio at the 2005 US Open…Kim Clijsters says she will retire…again…following the US Open. Clijsters, who will miss the French with injury, came out of retirement in 2009 at age 28, winning three Grand Slam titles since then…Robin Soderling’s bout with mono, which has kept him off the tour since July 2011, will keep him out of the 2012 French Open, Wimbledon and Olympics. “I feel all right as long as I don’t put too much stress on my body with heavy training,” the Swede told the AP. “But I learned early on to not go back too quickly and I don’t want another big setback.”…Maria Sharapova on Victoria Azarenka’s bitching about having to play injured or take rankings “zero pointers” for missing big WTA events: “She is probably injured more than any other player at No. 1. Last year she had more retirements (five) than anyone but played a full schedule. After two days you would see her practicing. It’s tough to know what her state is and what she is feeling. If I’m injured — however big or small the fine is — health is the most important thing. You pay the fine or take the zero points.”…The WTA Tour is debuting a “Challenger Series,” like the ATP Challenger series, with total prize money of $125,000 and 160 ranking points for the champion. The series will debut in Taipei in October…Roger Federer says he doesn’t like the ITF’s new rule that you must participate in Davis Cup four times between the Olympics to become eligible for Olympic participation, and that no one is going to tell him what to do: “I disagree with this completely. I was in the room when the ITF presented this to us and I was not asked about it before the decision was made. They might as well have just sent us a letter. The ITF makes it seem as if playing in the Davis Cup is the only place in tennis where you represent your country. That isn’t right at all. They are forcing people to play, almost, and that is not a good vibe…I will have to see what happens. I am focused on this year and I will make sure that whatever schedule I have for next year best suits me.”..24-year-old Bulgarian Dimitar Kutrovsky has been banned for two years after testing positive for methylhexaneamine in February at the SAP Open in San Jose, Calif. Kutrovsky claims it got into his system when he took the supplement “Jack’d.” Dumbass…Maria Sharapova has a career perfect record in claycourt finals…Robin Soderling is having a baby later this year.

It’s pretty weird that many supplements have chemicals in them that are banned by organizations such as WADA. If professional athletes are prohibited from taking this stuff, why is it even sold to the general population?

@polo: I COMPLETELY AGREE. Stick to the old fashioned “she’s pregnant” or “we are looking forward to welcoming a new member to the family” etc. It WORKS! None of this crazy “were pregnant” stuff please! I HATED arnie in twins and people saying things such as this bring back bad memories!

Bolleli returns Rafa’s serve well and then he usually misses on the next shot or the shot after. They aren’t forced errors. They aren’t having any long rallies. Don’t think I’ve ever watch Bolleli before. He has a good serve and can really whack the ball, but the errors add up.

Rafa’s forehand is sitting up high indeed. He’s been patchy so far: more errors than winners for both of these players.

Brando I assumed that they did it because Bolleli was getting a beatdown; they were just happy to see him get on the board: 4-1 instead of 5-0. He’s hit 26 errors to 10 winners so far so maybe a pity cheer? :)

How come everyone is dressed so similar; is the FO uniform light blue or white shirt with straw fedora? Are people required to wear this?

Seems like Rafa’s concentration and then serve went off the boil a little bit in the middle of the second set.

I wish I can hear Wilander commentating instead of the brothers McEnroe and whoever is there at ESPN and the Tennis Channel. Wilander seems to give very interesting and fresh viewpoints as opposed to the cliches that the others spew out.

@jane: hi, yes I saw it as that too. In all honesty was pleased bolleli got a couple of games in the 2nd. Rafa’s serve/ concentration did go missing abut in the 2nd set. His serve has not been impressive for 2 matches in a row now. So far I think novak was the most impressive of the big 3 in his opening match- the MOST consistent. Roger play was better JUST too many mental lapses. Your thoughts re big 3?

Brando, I think all of their first round matches have been a bit patchy. Yesterday there were too many errors for Fed, but I saw only highlights of his match so cannot comment too much more. Rafa’s serve has been off and on today. On this court, with so much space around him, Rafa’s court positioning can revert to far behind the baseline as well because he defends so well. His DTL shots look great, on both the forehand and backhand sides; he should use those more imo. I think Nole’s match was interesting because Starace was playing so well, so it was challenging. I think Nole hit 39 winners (to 19 errors) in that match and Starace had 25 winners (to 27 errors) so overall it was a quality match. But then Nole started to loosen up, got a better read on Potito’s serve, and finished strongly. I think it was windier yesterday which may’ve accounted for Fed’s high error count? Like I say, I didn’t see his match as it was too early, but I caught some highlights and replay last night. He looked fast and sharp at times, but then some misses. One thing about Nole was that he served well; Potito didn’t even earn a break point.

Brando, I think all of their first round matches have been a bit patchy. Yesterday there were too many errors for Fed, but I saw only highlights of his match so cannot comment too much more. Rafa’s serve has been off and on today. On this court, with so much space around him, Rafa’s court positioning can revert to far behind the baseline as well because he defends so well. His DTL shots look great, on both the forehand and backhand sides; he should use those more imo. I think Nole’s match was interesting because Starace was playing so well, so it was challenging. I think Nole hit 39 winners (to 19 errors) in that match and Starace had 25 winners (to 27 errors) so overall it was a quality match. But then Nole started to loosen up, got a better read on Potito’s serve, and finished strongly. I think it was windier yesterday which may’ve accounted for Fed’s high error count? Like I say, I didn’t see his match as it was too early, but I caught some highlights and replay last night. He looked fast and sharp at times, but then some misses. One thing about Nole was that he served well; Potito didn’t even earn a break point.

Agree, they all have been abit patchy. It was windy yesterday- so that may have played a part in roger’s performance.

Nole looked the best to me since his serve, like you said, was the most solid out of the three. Further, storace was a better player than bolleli or kamke IMO, and yet novak was solid. His ROS of serve, funnily enough, at times seemed uncertain.

Agree Brando, on Rafa’s serve and Nole’s ROS. Although I think it was partly that he hadn’t played Starace in a long while and it took him some time to gage that serve re: the return. My bigger concern is Nole’s break point conversion. He needed to convert on more of his chances.

Murray is looking sharp so far. I am not familiar with his young Japanese opponent though.

just looked at bracket challenge for the 1ST TIME and wow am i in need of some results ASAP!

Did not know lopez had lost and YET i had him going so far- regret that pick!

LOL, re me picking a fedal.

My reason: rafa should, hopefully, get to the final. I would have picked novak, BUT for me his body language this clay season, including his tennis, HAS NOT been up to the mark. He’ll be fine the 1st week, BUT i think the 2nd week the tension, pressure of a novak slam SHALL take it’s tool. Federer, on the other hand, has ABSOLUTELY ZERO to lose and loves the big stage. BAR the rome SF, he has looked pretty good this year too.

”Nadal’s biggest challenge remains Djokovic. Despite his two wins over Novak this spring, Djokovic can still control the rallies against Rafa, and still put the match on his racquet. The upside for the Spaniard is psychological; he seems much calmer and more confident against Djokovic these days, as if the fear that gripped him in their matches has finally passed. As I wrote above, this tournament feels like a peak moment for this clay-court era, and it would only be fitting if Nadal ended it on top again.”

Brando yeah hope Steve Tignor is right about Rafa too,although i think Jane,Courbon,Wogboy,Mat4 might have different ideas though lol,nice to see the top 4 coming through virtually unscathed so far,i have no idea about my bracket i think i ballsed it up,as i dont even see my name with the other tennis x posters,so something went wrong somewhere,anyway sorry for rambling,just wondering who does Rafa play next?

I knew something was missing from this thread – it’s time for childish abuse!
Let’s see.. erm… ALISON IS A SILLY SAUSAGE.
For a while there, it looked as though Andy Murray was, too. What’s the betting Lendl gets ulcers before the season is over?

Colin lol,im going to throw my teddy on the floor,and stamp my feet and have a paddy lol
seriously though great Andy came through without dropping a set,i think all the big four have areas that need improving,thats what makes them so good,they win when not playing there best.

Yay! I am sooo happy for Razzano! She played so well. I thought for sure when Serena went 3-0 up in the second set tiebreak that Serena would win, but Razzano just never gave up. She had zoo many chances to break in the second set and just couldn’t get them, but I felt throughout that “she deserves at least a set”, and indeed, she got two of them. Exciting!

Hi Jane yeah great win for Razzano,hopefully she will build upon this win,the draws really opened up now,i picked a Sharapova/Kvitova final on the womens side,with Petra getting her second GS,dont know why i just feel shes ready for another one,how about you?

I also didn’t picked Serena alison. I picked Radwanska/Sharapova in the final with Sharapova winning, but I would be happy for Petra too, only she’s not been too consistent on clay. But you never know.

Ofcourse rafa fans are nice to nole fans. nole doesn’t have the coj0nes to call rafa a weenie. [ofcourse, according to serena he is one too!] look @ the raf@tards crawling out of the hole to spew their hatred on serena! really? she was spot-on when she called rafa/nole cry babies. these guys were whining worse than kids and she called them out. kudos to her.

in some respects rafa/nole are birds of the same feather – constanly disregarding rules with time violations and medical time out abuses. ofcourse rafa is king of one and nole is the king of another.

rafa is a weenie! gotta love serena! come on babe, lets win it where it really matters. the big W. french open has mostly been the 3rd slam. the big 2 are W/USO.

@Thanks Kimmi may 29th 6.15pm,i dont know what i did wrong,when filling out the brackets,my name is not there with the tennis x posters(lalaland),but i would love for Petra to win here,shes so talented,one of my fav female players ATM.